


Legend of the Negatower

by slowmobanana



Series: The Journey of Pimps [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adult Language, Comedy, Fantasy, Gen, Minecraft, mature content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-23 13:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8329069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowmobanana/pseuds/slowmobanana
Summary: The sequel to The Journey of Pimps...It has been months since the Golden Tower was assembled by the Achievement Hunters. Aside from the ever restless mobs, all has been peaceful across the land. That is until a Nether Portal the size of a castle opens near Michael's home and armies of Nether creatures begin their apocalyptic assault upon the Overworld. With the help of a familiar face, Michael must find and band the Achievement Hunters together once again to end this nightmare and bring closure to a centuries old myth once and for all.Voices from another world and faces that don't exist, they will soon find themselves tangled in a great series of events that could possibly result in the eternal unity of man... or a horrible, agonizing apocalypse.





	1. It Starts with a Bang

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends! I am here to let you know that Legend of the Negatower is a sequel to one of my other works, The Journey of Pimps. If you haven't read that yet, go do that as this story is a direct sequel that will contain spoilers for the previous story. Also, you will probably be very lost if you try to ready this without reading The Journey of Pimps first.  
> To those who are familiar with my work, here I am! I have promised a sequel and I am here to deliver. (Unlike that other sequel I promised, but that's because it has to be redone and it's a long story and whoops...) Anyways, I hope that you all are ready for this!  
> And so it begins...

It jolted Michael awake and rang throughout the forest. He leaned up suddenly, gasping for air in a panic he didn't quite understand yet. He clutched the sheet of his bed and looked around the room for any immediate danger, but alas, he was alone. The sun was bright this morning, just barely rising above the trees. The bang that shook him awake faded with his sleepiness and he wondered if he had heard it all.

He groaned and fell backwards against his pillow again. It was a damn good dream, too, but now he couldn't remember a thing about it. It didn't matter now. He was awake and it was the start of a new day. Leaning up, he pulled the sheet from his bed and stood.

It had been several months since he had returned home from reassembling the Tower for the first time in centuries. He had made a few adjustments to his house to accommodate his disability. Stairs were a pain in the ass, so he managed to successfully build himself a slide to go down in the morning. If it wasn't so painful to get back up, he'd ride that thing many times a day.

He had learned how to truly hunt, rather than just his sloppy practice of chasing cows and chickens down with a sword. He learned to use lures and practiced daily with the diamond bow. Many times, he considered leaving to seek adventure again, but by halfway through the day, he would need to rest because his legs caused him too much pain. He could barely leave the forest on his own without fear that he wouldn't be able to make it back.

He was so limited and it pissed him off that he couldn't go on ahead like he used to. But, at the end of the day, he found himself staring at the carved message in his diamond bow, remembering the agony that it took to simply reassemble the Tower and everything they had lost to do so. How stupid was he to think he could trust everyone who decided to self-proclaim their allegiance of the Achievement Hunters? Not everyone could be trusted. He knew that better than anyone.

“Wee!” He threw his arms in the air and slid down the homemade slide, enjoying the brief seconds of joy as he descended from the second floor to the first. He reached the bottom, sliding out a few inches until the soles of his shoes touched the furnace and he stopped.

And thus began his day.

He lit the furnace and cooked some meat and eggs he had found on his previous hunt. He ate breakfast in his dining room, accompanied by the birds that chirped outside his windows and the spiders that spun webs in the corners. When he was done eating, he threw his plate in the sink and decided to deal with them later. He limped outside and stole the moment to enjoy the morning.

He stretched out his arms and took a nice long deep breath, taking in the smell of autumn flavours and fresh air and campfire smoke... Uncertainly, he dropped his arms to his side and sniffed the air again, this time trying to locate a particular scent. Smoke was unusual in this part of the forest, especially since he was the only one who lived in these parts and he didn't have any campfire of the sort going on.

Curious, Michael looked to the sky in search of any visual clues to the source of the fire. A plume of smoke was drifting along the clouds, thick and dark and menacing. The traveler's expression hardened and he limped around the house where the smoke seemed to be coming from. There was a particular point in which it originated and, with annoyance, he set off in it's direction.

Carefully, he stepped over leaves and branches. Bushes were navigated by swing by thick tree limbs, which Michael had mastered as to not use his legs so much. The closer he drew to the origin point, the stronger the smell became. Less like a campfire and more like rotting wood burning, his eyes were beginning to sting and the heat was prickling his skin.

In between the trees, fire was dancing in the place of shadows. Trees fell from the burning wood and flames were crawling up the trunks yet, reaching for the sky that was quite without it's reach. Michael's back straightened, horror drawing on his expression as he realised the fire was coming closer at an alarming rate. He stole two steps back and froze again when a ghostly flame danced out from the inferno behind it. Squinting, he could make out the shape of a flaming body and rotating rods that circulated it's body.

“Holy shit.”

Several Blazes emerged from the wildfire, groaning and screeching to each other. Michael reached over his shoulder for his trusted blade but his fingers grasped at air. The sword was still on it's stand in his bedroom. His blood ran cold and he stepped back hesitantly, his heel catching on a root and he tumbled over backward, landing on his bottom. Perhaps it was for the best; a fireball whizzed by where his head was a few moments ago.

The Blazes fixated their eyes on him and groaned loudly, hovering in his direction. With a yell, Michael scrambled to his feet and began to bolt through the forest. Ducking under branches and swinging over bushes. He broke out into the clearing, with the flames barely catching up to him. He sprinted towards his house, swinging open the door, and scrambling up the stairs as best he could.

The Blazes groaned outside, clinking loudly against each other as they neared the back of his house. He limped quickly to his collection of weapons. He grabbed his bow and swung it over his shoulder, then snatched his sword from it's stand. He had a second to consider his armour before a hole was blown into the back of his home. Blazes poured into the back and Michael stumbled.

The stairs were no longer an option, haunted by the flaming ghosts that approached him slowly. He stole a quick glance around his room, then lifted his sword. “Come at me, bitches!”

Like a flash of lightning, he struck forward, bringing down the blue blade upon one of the Blazes' head. The sword cut through a good inch of it's skull before the sword couldn't be moved any further. Gripping the hilt with both his hands, he swung the Blaze sideways into one of it's brethren. The two Blazes mumbled stupidly as they slammed against the wooden planks and blew another hole in the wall.

A remaining Blaze shot a fireball at the traveler, who stepped over sideways as the flame brushed by his arm and exploded against his bed. With a mighty swing, his sword connected with the third Blaze and it was thrown down the stairs. It connected with the floor below and the wood caught aflame instantly. Michael grit his teeth together and backed away from the stairs.

It wasn't long before several new Blazes flew in through the holes in his wall, outnumbering Michael by an unnerving amount. With the house burning down, there would be no point in staying to fight. He turned on his heel and sprinted for the window. He brought up his arms to protect his face and he slammed his shoulder against the glass.

Broken shards tore apart his clothes and his skin as he free fell from the second story to the ground. Skillfully, he rolled over his shoulder and landed shakily into a crouch.

Everything around him was a flame. Black smoke billowed away with the hot wind that tore through the burning forest, carrying soot and crispy leaves away. Michael glanced up at the sky as a massive Ghast floated over the clearing, squealing as it shot fire charges down upon the forest.

To his right, several pigmen appeared from the smokey shadows, golden swords in hands. Their pink skin was charred and falling off in chunks, the pig-like skull visible in the firelight. One moved it's hand as though it was speaking to it's partners. Finally, the third one halted and mumbled something, pointing their attention to the human crouching in the centre of the clearing.

One of the pigmen wiggled it's nose, then snorted loudly. “That's it. It's the one.”

Grunting, Michael stood and sprinted away from the men towards the trees. Holding his breath, he leapt through the fire, in between the trees. His arms burned and sticks scratched away at his clothes, tearing apart his shirt and the bandages around his legs. He forced himself to stand, agony tearing apart his muscles and skin. He struggled to walk, forcing himself to move as quickly as he could with his leg injury beginning to warn him he was pushing himself too much.

Behind him, he could hear the pigmen squealing to one another, commanding each other to hurry through the forest after him. His breath escaped him in high-pitched panicked huffs, trying desperately not to make too much noise lest they hear him and find him trying to hide in the burning bushes.

The pain and the fear turned reality into a horrific nightmare he wished he could wake up from. With nothing for miles, the certainty of death was creeping on the back of his mind, acting as motivation to keep his body moving as quickly as it could manage.

Suddenly, he stumbled and hit the ground with a resounding thud. Something pierced the skin on his arm and he groaned loudly. He tried to pull himself to his feet but his legs wouldn't move the way he wanted them to. He struggled for a moment as the flames came around him, surrounding the traveler with hellfire. The flames burned away the oxygen, the air growing thick and dark as smoke replaced anything breathable.

Michael fell back against the ground again and gasped for air, trying to drag himself along the ground. All of a sudden, a hand reached out and pulled the back of the traveler's jacket, yanking him violently off the ground and backwards into the arms of a second being. His vision focused, though barely, on the empty eye socket of a zombie pigman, who snarled in disgust. “Where do you think _you're_ going?” it snapped, voice rough and deep and, dare Michael admit, menacing.

The pigman who held him let go and Michael collapsed to his knees again, thankful to find some degree of feeling in his thighs, no matter how fleeting. “It's broken,” the second pigman mumbled as the traveler fell over to one side, using his arms to keep his face from falling into the dry, hot ground. “It can't walk.”

“Good,” the first pigman snorted. “That will make things easier for us. The Master will be pleased.”

The second pigman grabbed the prisoner's ankle and yanked hard, dragging him along the ground as they started in a new direction. Michael screamed, clawing at the ground hopelessly in a vain attempt at escape.

It could have been forever, but fear made it feel like only a few minutes had passed as the pigmen dragged him away deeper and deeper into the scorching forest. He choked for air, his voice slowly fading with his strength. He allowed himself to be dragged across the forest floor, sticks scratching his skin along his stomach and back and arms. His fingers pawed gently at the ground, forcing the memory of dirt under his fingertips in the very case this would be the last he'd ever see or feel Overworld soil again.

Finally, they came upon a second, much larger clearing within the forest. Curiously, he peered over his shoulder into the clearing. Standing nearly twenty-three metres high was the world's largest Nether portal. Armies upon armies of Nether creatures wandered through like a river of fire and rotten flesh. Even the Ghasts could fit through the Nether portal, floating harmlessly until massive fireballs spewed from it's mouth down at any moving creature it could see.

Michael's eyes widened with horror. “Oh, my God...” An army like this could destroy the world. It would only be a matter of weeks, maybe days before the entire world was alight with fire and monsters.

“It's the fucking apocalypse.”

They drew near to the portal, edging closer and closer. The more he stared at the portal, the greater his panic became. With new found strength, he began to struggle again, clawing at the ground for rocks or roots to grasp onto. Something, anything to help him escape. Though, even if he did, his legs wouldn't work and he wouldn't be able to escape the forest before he was captured again.

This was his end.

Suddenly, something slammed against the pigman's head and shattered into a thousand pieces. The pigman screamed and sprinted away, flailing it's arms in the air as it tried to outrun what already stuck to his skin; acid.

The second pigman jumped with shock and released it's prisoner. Michael didn't hesitate to begin his escape, though no matter how hard he tried, he could not make the muscles in his legs do what he wanted. He dug his fingers into the dirt again and tried to drag his body along the ground towards the forest, despite his chances of survival significantly decreased in there than if he stayed here.

There was another glass that shattered and the pigman who once held him squealed in agony, falling to it's knees behind him. Michael didn't look back.

With all of his strength, he pulled himself along, trying to avoid the other monsters that could detect him. He hadn't made it far when heavy footsteps approached him, coming up from behind him. He was yanked off the ground again, this time by his arm and held suspended above the ground. He saw the pigman's face for only a moment as it pulled back a fist and Michael was suddenly enveloped in darkness.

...

He knew he was asleep and he thought he was dreaming, but it felt too real to be a dream. He was so aware of the darkness he had become trapped in. He could see nothing but his own body, which glowed luminously in the darkness. Looking down now at his body, which was kneeling on an invisible ground, Michael noticed that it was not his own. It belonged to someone else entirely.

The body felt light, as though it contained no mass, and he was in absolutely no pain. His legs felt new, as though they had never once felt pain in his life. Gingerly, he reached down and brushed his fingers against his skin. As his hand moved, the tinkling of metal upon metal echoed vastly throughout the never ending darkness. He lifted his arm to find shadowy chains that held his arms to the black floor.

He tried to stand, but the chains would not allow him to stand straight, pulling him violently back down again.

“Michael...” The traveler looked up and saw himself. His body, which laid on the ground, gasping laboured breathes and fingers balling into shaking fists. This person spoke with his lips, his voice, but this person was not him. “Please help me.”

The darkness came over him again and he was lost in the lack of thought.

 


	2. Michael Has a Really Bad Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tossing between this one and Prenumbris. I apologize if I end up falling behind in this one in favour of Prenumbris, but I have more planned for that than this one, but I'm hoping that I will be able to balance the two stories and post chapters as I complete them. Thank you for your patience!

Slowly, he came to. His head throbbed painfully and every inch above his waist tingled as though feeling was just returning to his body. A cold breeze fell up upon his body and he shivered, thankful for the first time ever to be cold. Gently, a blanket fell upon his body. The wool irritated his skin but he didn't reject it. The pain and the irritation told him he was alive.

As his body warmed, his breathing unconsciously steadied and he wallowed silently in the pain, not wanting to wake quite yet. He didn't want to know what had become of him. The memory of fire and agony came back to him slowly and he feared he had been dragged back down to hell again.

Then, against his suspicions, a woman's voice softly echoed throughout the air about him, quietly humming a gentle tune. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

The room was dark with wooden walls and low ceilings. It felt large to be a bedroom, but the tables and the shelves made this place feel like a full home. He let his head fall to one side, eyes laying upon a woman with blond hair who stood over a cauldron, stirring it thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He inhaled and groaned at the pain that rose in his chest. The woman didn't turn so he didn't do anything more.

He didn't need to wait long before the door to the room opened, allowing the painfully bright sun a moment to illuminate the entire room before it as shut out again. The sunspots in his vision made it difficult to see clearly, but this new woman who entered was familiar. “Is he awake yet?” the new woman asked.

The woman over the cauldron stopped humming to answer. “I dunno. Go check yourself.”

Michael blinked slowly as the new woman turned to him, her face made clear in the darkness of the room. “It's you,” he croaked.

The new woman approached his bedside and pressed a hand against his forehead. “My name's Meg,” she said then, as she pulled her hand away, frowning. “You have a fever.” Michael wanted to speak, but found no energy to. “Don't worry. Ashley, is it done yet?”

“Pretty much,” the blond witch replied, grasping for a glass bottle from the shelf beside her. She filled the bottle with the potion and handed it to Meg. Meg took the bottle and carried it to Michael, lifting his head with her arm and put the bottle to his lips. The potion had the texture of milk but tasted like honey and strawberry's with the familiar, bitter aftertaste.

Meg set the bottle down on the table next to the bed and sat down on the bed next to Michael's legs. They waited, and the long the waited, the better Michael began to feel. Soon, he could feel wakefulness and strength returning to his body. The headache and the pain subsided, but didn't fade completely. He found himself leaning up again, finally seeing the woman who were before him.

The witch that Lindsay knew and a stranger; Meg and Ashley, respectively.

“Did you... save me?” he questioned, rubbing his eye.

Meg nodded, then gestured to Ashley. “We both did.” she replied. “You're lucky we came when he did. Gods know what would've happened to you if we had been a moment too late.”

“I'm glad I don't have to find out,” he chuckled, the memory of being dragged through the forest slowly returning to him in flashes of red and black. For a moment he fell into a dark silence before he was brought back to the present. “How did you know where to find me?”

Meg adjusted in her seat, trying to search for the right words. “I don't know how to explain this... But you were right about magic being linked to magic. To explain what's going on, I will have to start from the beginning. It's a long story, so you'll need to settle in.”

Michael hesitated then adjusted his pillow so it would support his back when he leaned against the wall.

“It all began with the Gods, who created all life that existed on the planet. Humans, animals, and plants alike, granted them all free will so as the Gods themselves did. However, as the years passed, humans had come to think that Gods did not deserve to rule the Overworld, or that humans deserved power equal to the Gods. This beget the Battle Against the Gods, in which humans launched a war against their creators for power.

“United as one, humans proved to be more powerful than the Gods expected. A few even managed to harness the power of the Gods, which created witches and wizards who were born with a natural aptitude for magic. With this power of the Gods, witches and wizards from around the world banded together to create the Golden Tower, which would grant any wish spoken to it. It was planned that if the Gods ever started the apocalypse, which could only be cast upon the Overworld once, then the Golden Tower could reverse it and that would level the playing field of the war.

“Knowing that this Tower was as powerful as the Gods themselves, they created a contingency plan that would activate should the humans ever use the Tower. They cursed the gold so that when the power inside was used, it would result in the apocalypse. To prevent the apocalypse from ever being used before the Golden Tower was activated, they sealed it within a special set of Netherrack and created a tower nearly identical to the one made by the humans. It was called the Negatower.

“They boasted about their incredible plan to deter the humans from using the Golden Tower, which it did. The Tower was split into four pieces and spread across the world so that no human would ever be so tempted to gather the pieces and use them for selfish reasons. Of course, I suppose they didn't account for innocent travelers looking for adventure...”

The traveler's eyebrows furrowed and he cast a glance to Ashley, who was simply leaning against the table and shrugged. “So, now what?” Michael asked.

“Well,” Meg replied, standing once more. “we will need to reunite the Achievement Hunters. All of the people who were present for the assembling of the Tower and, especially, the one who made the wish.”

Michael crossed his arms. “But that's impossible. Ryan's dead. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I know. Lindsay told me everything.” Meg made her way to the door and opened it, pulling a wheelchair into the room. He immediately grasped his thigh and felt his heart jump when he realised he couldn't feel anything. “But we need him if we want to stop the apocalypse. Even if we have to contact his soul from the beyond.”

The traveler stiffened. “So, like an Ouija board, or...?”

“Never!” she gasped, stopping dead in her tracks. “Those things only beget evil. To contact the dead, I will need a special set of items, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'll look for them when we gather the Achievement Hunters again.”

She rolled the wheelchair beside Michael but said nothing, leaving him to come to his own conclusions. He made a meek attempt to move the muscles within his legs but he was left without success. “Why didn't you tell me this back when I visited you the first time? It would've been fucking good to know. This could've been prevented!”

Meg gathered a few extra times and began to stuff them into a backpack. “Because it had to be done. The apocalypse cannot lay dormant forever. When there is a lot to lose, there is also, in return, a lot to gain. Such as human freedom and the power to control our planet as we see fit. The Overworld has been tied to the Gods for too long by the Towers. It is time that we find our own freedom. And, with this, perhaps the Battle Against the Gods will no longer be for nothing.” She closed the bag and turned to him. “I believe that you, and the Achievement Hunters, could very well be the best this world has to offer in this time of greatest need. I don't need to meet them to know this.”

She set the bag down and gestured to Ashley, who stared at her in brief confusion before realising what Meg wanted. They approached him and he said nothing as they eased him into the wheelchair. His heart sank but he kept a brave and silent face. Suddenly, Meg offered his sword to him and he laid it on his lap while she draped the bow and several arrows over the handles.

“We'll set off for Summervale right now,” she said then, pushing him around the table towards the door. “We can't waste anymore time.” She opened the door and pushed him out onto the deck, turning back in towards the door. “Thank you for your help, Ashley. I really appreciate it. This is the safest place for anyone to be, so try to save as many people as you can.”

“Duh,” she chuckled. “Just be careful. Stay in contact. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask.”

Meg smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Ashley.” She glanced down at Michael, who stared despondently in the direction of black smoke. It was far away now, but ever coming forward through the forest.

The end of the world was coming. It felt surreal. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he woke to a beautiful morning. Less than a year ago, he was suspended upside down over lava.

And now he knew he was the angel of death. Gods knew what would happen to the Overworld.

All because he thought the Scripture from Pyro's Den was a sign to go back out there and take the world by storm again. No, the last time he did that, he lost everything.

History was repeating itself.

“Michael?”

He zoned back in nearly an hour later. He hadn't realised they were moving but she was pushing his wheelchair through the forest with the black smoke behind them now. If he didn't think about it and just looked forward, the world seemed normal. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

“No. I was just wondering where you were.”

“Right here.” He glanced to the side. “Haven't gone anywhere new.”

“You've really changed since I met you.”

“You think so?” He shifted uncomfortably. “I'm trying this new 'cool guy' approach. If I keep my wits about me, maybe I'll fucking, I dunno, not accidentally destroy something like a certain fucking someone.”

“Ryan?” she asked innocently, as though his hint had gone over his head. Then again, she never met any of the Achievement Hunters, aside from Lindsay and Jeremy. She wasn't exactly wrong though.

“No,” he replied. After a silence, he completed the thought; “Gavin.”

“Oh,” she chuckled, somehow amused by the comment, but she said nothing more about it. Retract his last thought; maybe she had met the others, too. “How do you feel?”

He paused for a moment, taking a mental check of his body. “Still can't feel shit down there, but everything else hurts. Woozy. Not great.”

“Wonderful,” she whispered sarcastically. “Listen, you really have to take it easy, okay? I think you've been Withered.”

“Fucking great!” he screamed then, throwing his arms in the air. “What else could possibly go wrong today!? I'm crippled, and sick, and I single handedly helped bring destruction upon the world! Wow, can you tell me some great news for once!?” Silence. He couldn't see her face, but he imagined he startled her a good one and he exhaled, bringing himself back to planet Earth again. “Sorry.”

“It's fine,” she said quietly, awkwardly.

He pressed a hand against his forehead. “So much for that 'cool guy' approach,” he mumbled.

...

“I see the city,” she said.

By this time, the sky was beginning to turn red with the setting sun and darkness was beginning to fall upon the world. Behind them, the blackening sky was lit by the ever approaching hellfire. It felt as though it was creeping up behind them, ready to strike them through the hearts through his shoulder blades at any moment.

Yet, the destruction seemed to approach wearily and not nearly as quickly as it did before. Up close and personal, he would imagine, it would be much different.

She leaned down so he could hear her better. “Are you ready to meet Geoff again?”

He stared forward. Under any other circumstances, he would have been happy to meet with his friend again, but he felt nothing. He didn't want to meet Geoff, not in the condition he was in and with the news he was about to bring.

No, he felt guilty that he had to be the one to do this. This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

He inhaled deeply. “Yup,” he answered sharply. “Fucking ecstatic.”

 


	3. Geoff and Griffon Leave Together This Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I'm hoping to write a second fanfic for NaNoWriMo and also this at the same time throughout November, so updates for this might be slow. However, I'm also considering using this for NaNoWriMo... Who knows. We'll see.  
> Onwards!

When they entered the city gates, they were met with immediate chaos. People ran from place to place, through and across the streets. Woman screamed, men barked orders, and children stood dumbly in the streets, watching their parents run around, ignoring them for the time being. They looked as though they wanted to play but picked up on the panic and worry from the adults and so did not.

They attracted a few eyes but none stared long as they rushed about to gather their things in preparation to evacuate. “Where is he?” Michael whispered to himself as Meg pushed them through the crowd. “He's got to be around here somewhere.”

It wasn't long before they found themselves at the Town Square, where merchants and shopkeepers gave away food and water in rations to the people who were planning their evacuation promptly. A fountain laid in the centre of the square, but it no longer spat water in wonderful curves over beautifully carved marble. It was a shame something as beautiful as that would fall to the hands of the Nether creatures in time.

“I don't know what he looks like,” Meg admitted finally and Michael sighed.

“Trust me. I'm looking.” As the final word left his lips, his eyes fell upon a familiar face staring at the sky with furrowed eyebrows and a hand against the forehead to cover his eyes. Michael's expression light up and he threw a hand in the air, waving it wildly. “Geoff! Geoff, hey!”

Geoff was taken aback by the voice and looked around four different ways before he finally saw the traveler and the witch. He rubbed his eyes, then broke into a great grin. He yelled something over his shoulder and sprinted over towards the travelling duo, excitement melting into concerned as his brain processed the exact situation. “Holy dicks, dude. What the hell happened to you?”

“Long story,” Michael began and his gaze fell back towards Geoff's house where Griffon was standing in the doorway with a large bag. Stress was beyond evident on her face though it seemed to fade when she noticed who Geoff was talking to.

Geoff patted Michael on the shoulder and introduced himself to Meg quickly before gesturing for them to follow them into the house.

It was bright and beautiful inside. Wood and marble was carved together intricately and the walls stood strong and tall, built to withstand any thing humans could throw at them. Against Nether creatures, however, this would be a different story. It smelled like wood smoke and fire, warm and inviting and Michael just wanted to curl up with a feather pillow and fall asleep.

Meg pushed him into the living room while Geoff fetched some water from the kitchen. For a brief moment, Meg and Griffon awkwardly spoke pleasantries as though the world wasn't about to end while Michael fell silent, waiting for Geoff to come back so they could get to the point.

It wasn't long before the warrior returned with two glasses of water, handing them each to the visitors in his house. Michael thanked him and took a sip, which turned into chugging the entire thing down in a matter of seconds. He placed the cup back on the table, sighed loudly with content, and leaned back again. Geoff looked between the glass and Michael again, then smiled a bit. “Would you like some more?” he asked.

Michael waved a hand nonchalantly. “Nah, I'm good. Thanks.”

“We were really worried about you,” Griffon began suddenly, leaning forward. “When we heard there were Nether monsters in the forest, we weren't sure what you were going to do. I'm glad you're okay.”

“Me, too,” Michael whispered, considering the alternative.

A silence fell, then Geoff shifted. “So, are you gonna tell us what the fuck happened or no?”

“Uh, well,” Michael pursed his lips together and tilted his head a bit, more in reluctance than anything. Then he opted to rip the band-aid right off. “A massive Nether portal opened up by my house.”

The couple's expressions grew from concern to horror but they remained silent, glancing to one another briefly before Griffon asked, “How big?”

“Massive.” He emphasised the word with large hand movements outlining how it looked from his perspective. “It's big enough for a Ghast to fit through. There's a bunch of shit coming out of there, and it's _fucking terrifying_.”

Geoff frowned more than Michael had ever seen him frown before. “How did you get close enough to see it without getting caught?”

“I didn't,” was the sharp reply. “I got a good look at it when some Pigmen were trying to drag me into the Nether. I tried to run but...” He gestured to his legs and the wheelchair, letting the sentence hang before he continued. “I don't wanna know what would've happened if Meg didn't show up when she did.”

Meg smiled and shrugged sheepishly. “I had help.”

“Do you two know each other?” Griffon asked, shifting the conversation temporarily.

Meg and Michael looked at each other uncertainly. “Well, kinda,” the latter began. “Lindsay took me to see her after the whole Dark City thing. She's the reason I could walk for as long as I did.”

“In the rain forest?” Geoff questioned and the two visitors nodded. “That's pretty far. What're you doing all the way over here?”

Meg inhaled and glanced at Michael, who gestured for her to explain the situation. She turned back to the couple and put her hands on her lap. “It's not without reason that the portal opened. It's the Golden Tower. This is the apocalypse.”

The sentence hung in the air for a moment but neither of the couple really moved in response. Geoff sighed and leaned back, then he groaned loudly and rubbed his face with his hands. “No fucking kidding.”

Griffon's expression fell and she sighed, much sadder than her husband. “So, we're the reason this is happening.”

“We're all gonna die!” Geoff yelled, sinking further and further into his couch. Michael considered snapping some sense into him, then recalled his own rage quit on the way to see them so relented for the sake of fairness. “This isn't okay. Why is this happening?”

Meg allowed Geoff to whine a bit more before she picked up her cup, took a sip, and spoke again. “There's still hope,” she said and the couple immediately looked to her again. “We can stop this. We just need to reassemble the Achievement Hunters again and I can take care of the rest.”

Griffon shifted and looked at Geoff, who's was now just confused. “Everyone? Even idiots one and two?”

“Gavin and Dan?” Griffon questioned and Michael balled a fist.

“Hell, no,” he snapped. “They weren't there when we assembled the Tower. We don't need them.”

“What if they were in hiding?” Griffon looked to Meg, who shrugged.

“I'm not sure what counts as present or not, but we should find them, too, just in case.” Michael groaned and fell back against his wheelchair. “As much as I'd like to talk more about this,” Meg continued. “It's best if you finished packing your things. We have a lot of travelling ahead of us.”

Geoff and Griffon nodded and they stood, passing by Michael awkwardly into the rest of the house. He glanced at Meg who stared at him back, then he sighed, shrugged, and threw his arm on the rest beside his leg.

...

By this time, the sky was turning orange and the smoke that billowed from forest was thick again, wielding terror like a well-trained knife, zipping side to side threateningly and striking horror into the hearts of those who looked. In the west, the sun was attempting it's own escape across the Earth, abandoning the people it once protected in the darkness of the night.

Even the moon feared to show it's whole face.

Michael pressed his hand gently against Edgar's soft nose, who mooed gently. She seemed so oblivious to everything, relaxed and eating as though the world wasn't ending. It would've be nice to be as blissfully ignorant.

His skin prickled as the air grew arid from the approaching horde. Uneasily, Edgar huffed, stamping a hoof into the ground impatiently. Maybe she wasn't as ignorant as he thought.

“Michael. Come here, buddy.” He pushed back on his wheels and looked back to Geoff, who was standing back behind the caravan, motioning him over. Quietly, Michael pushed himself forward over the cobblestone to Geoff. As he approached, he could see Griffon loading his weapons into the back. “Alright. How am I gonna do this...?” He shifted sideways and put a hand on Michael's shoulder and one on his legs and it suddenly clicked.

“Ah! What're you doing!?” He tried to kick but his legs did nothing, so he reached out and grabbed Geoff's shoulders, clinging on tightly as the warrior loaded him, with difficulty, onto the back of the caravan. Just as Michael was certain he would be dropped, another pair of hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him up onto the caravan safely. “A little warning next time would be nice,” he huffed, sitting propped up on his hands. At least he was in the caravan now, if a little embarrassed it needed to come to this.

It wasn't long before Meg joined him in the back. He had insisted on adjusting himself to a comfortable position, so she just sat across from him. There was a load of stuff in the back of the caravan, most food and smithing things, a few pieces of armour Geoff prided himself in making and a few of Griffon's favourite statues she had made herself.

“Where are we going?” Michael asked as Geoff shoved his wheelchair into the back. “Careful with that.”

“Ideally,” he began, letting go of the chair with anticipation of it falling, but it never did. “to Diaz. If we're going to get the Achievement Hunters together, then we should probably get Ray and Jack first. They'll be the easiest to find.”

Those were names he hadn't thought of in a while. He smiled at the thought of the laid back vigilante and the kindhearted innkeeper and meeting with them once again, even if it was in this condition. Subconsciously, he put a hand against his thigh and squeezed gently. Still, he felt nothing so he let it go and looked up at Meg, who was staring out the back of the caravan.

The wagon lurched forward suddenly. Instinctively, he grabbed one of the seats to keep his balance and sighed. There were far less people in the city now than there were before. Soldiers remained to hold their home in hopes of defending it, or perhaps in hopes of stalling the armies enough so the evacuees could have time to move to a safer place. If things had been different, he would've insisted on staying to fight with them. But he couldn't walk, and he needed stop all this before things got worse.

Was there any place to hide on this planet from the apocalypse?

The sky was black and orange by the time they reached the great field. Far behind them, nearly over the horizon, the city burned a bright orange and everything. Horses galloped across the field as far away from the incoming blaze as they could. Ghasts hung like dark grey stars, floating uselessly about until they made their move to attack.

“It's horrible,” Meg whispered. Silently, Michael agreed.

“It's gonna get rough,” Griffon yelled through to the back. “We've still got normal mobs to deal with. Michael, do you have your sword?”

The traveler glanced around, trying to locate his sword but instead found his bow and arrows. He knocked an arrow into the bow and tested it, aiming out the back. “I've got something better,” he called back. He pulled himself to the back of the caravan and lifted himself up over the wooden lip, looking around for anything that seemed interested in them but the mobs seemed mostly interested in the distant fires and coming hellfire. Michael was curious how many things were aware of the situation after all.

“I wish this stupid cow would move faster,” Geoff mumbled under his breath.

Griffon smiled and tapped him on the leg gently. “Well, she is a cow. Ryan loved her.”

“Fuckin' weird,” he sighed, but his expression didn't mirror his words. Then, quietly, he added, “Should've known.”

“Huh?”

“Should've known he was going to pull something like that,” he added. “I still don't understand everything, but he was too excited to join our journey. He must've known what we were doing. We didn't even have to tell him.” He bit his lips and squinted. “Fuck. I bet him and Gavin were in cahoots.”

“Fuck yeah, it is!” Michael yelled from the back. Griffon jumped but said nothing. “Him and his stupid friend.”

“His friend's not stupid,” Griffon interjected then and Geoff frowned.

“What the hell do you know about his stupid friend?”

“I traveled with him. I should know.”

“Hey, what!?”

“Well, you didn't wanna come with me.”

“Yeah, 'cause it's dangerous! Now the world is ending, our home is gone, and it sucks.”

A moment of quietness, a dark silence that hung over them like a blade. Then, she said, “But we're together.”

Geoff smiled. “We're together.”

Michael shook his head and chuckled at the hopeful unity behind him, staring forward at all the danger and fire before him.

 


End file.
